Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Saturday.
The polls will be held in 7 phases, beginning from April 19 and ending on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4. No simultaneous polls will be held, he said.
The assembly polls for Andhra Pradesh will be on May 13, Sikkim on April 19, Arunachal Pradesh on April 19, and Odisha will be held on May 13. In a press conference today, the Election Commission said it is working towards combating the 4Ms (muscle, money, misinformation, and MCC violations) that hinder the path to free and fair elections.
Lok Sabha elections have been announced in the country. The Election Commission has made it clear in a press conference at 3 pm on Saturday that Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases.
The Election Commission of India announced on Saturday that Lok Sabha elections will be held in 7 phases. Counting for all elections, including by-elections, assembly elections, and general elections, is slated for June 4. The current government’s term is ending on June 16.
- Phase 1- April 19, 2024
- Phase 2- 26 April 2024
- Phase 3-7 May 2024
- Phase 4 – 13 May 2024
- Phase 5 – 20 May 2024
- Phase 6 – 25 May 2024
- Phase 7 – 1 June 2024
Election Commission Information Bulletin for LS Polls
According to the Election Commission, voting will be held on 102 seats in the first phase on April 19, 89 seats in the second phase on April 26 and 94 seats in the third phase on May 7.
Similarly, voting will be held on 96 seats for the fourth phase of elections on May 13, 49 seats in the fifth phase on May 20, 57 seats in the sixth phase on May 25, and 57 seats in the seventh and final phase on June 1.
Around 97 crore people are eligible to vote in the upcoming polls. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that voters older than 85 years of age will be allowed to vote from home.
He also said that minimum basic facilities like drinking water and toilets will be made available at all polling booths. The tenure of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 16 and a new House will have to be constituted before that. The tenure of the four state assemblies will also end in June.
Along with this, assembly elections of four states were also announced. Under this, voting will be held for 60 assembly seats of Arunachal Pradesh and 32 assembly seats of Sikkim on April 19.
Similarly, voting will be held for 175 assembly seats of Andhra Pradesh and 147 assembly seats of Odisha on May 13. The results of these states will also be declared along with the results of the Lok Sabha elections.
Schedule of States in LokSabha Elections
For First Phase, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry will go for elecion.
For second phase, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal will continue.
Third phase in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Daman Diu and Nagar Haveli, Jammu and Kashmir.
Fourth phase for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir.
Fifth Phase will continue in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh.
Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi for seconf last phase.
Seventh Phase will continue for Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Chandigarh.
Counting of votes will take place in all the states on June 4.
MCC advisory to Political Parties
- To foster political discourse which inspire rather than divide
- Issue based Campaigning
- No hate speeches
- No caste or religious appeals
- No criticism of any aspect of private life
- Pattern of past MCC violations to prepare grounds for
- Civilized campaigning in GE 2024
- To refrain from unverified and misleading Ads
- No masquerading of advertisements as news
- Restraint on Social media posts vilifying/insulting rivals
- Responsibility on Star Campaigners to maintain decorum
Election commission strict on Fake News
CEC remarks regarding political parties advised to ensure responsible Social Media behavior during elections. He furthur said that Originators of fake news to be dealt with severely as per extant laws.
Section 79 (3)(B) of the IT Act empowers nodal officers in each state to remove unlawful content regarding general election.
Curtail fake narratives – SOP for Quick Response against fake news.
With Proactive Communication on fakes- Myth vs Reality give information on eci.gov.in.
Elections in J&K will be held immediately after Lok Sabha polls, announces CEC
Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday announced that the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election will be conducted after the Lok Sabha polls.
“EC stands committed to holding Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir soon after LS elections,” Kumar said at the press conference regarding general election held on Saturday in country’s capital Vigyan Bhawan.
It was expected that the poll panel would announce elections to the Union territory, which last witnessed elections way back in 2014.
When asked why are assembly elections not being held simultaneously with the general elections, Kumar said that the security forces have to be provided to every candidate, which is not possible at a time when elections are being held across the country.